Mushrooms
by Innocent Fox
Summary: Mario is alone. His later years are spent working for a less than luxurious lifestyle. The war that brought him together with Peach also tore him away from her. Little does he know, the rumblings of new conflict and bloodshed lie just beneath the surface.


**Mushrooms**

**Intention**

The overweight plumber carried his battered leather case up the stone staircases of his apartment building. Judgemental eyes followed in their peep holes, forever spiralling through the ceilings into the blue. Dropping the case on the cold concrete, the click of his key brought about a simpler, more inviting time, triggering his memories, splashes of reds, golds, azures flickered just as the broken hall light did. Tossing the case on a stained chair, the tiny space occupied an unkempt bed and a framed picture on the wall. It was the plumber and his brother, the brother shaking the plumber's hand, it was staged and false, much like their appreciation for the other. Another piece of furniture always stared at him as he walked in, a cabinet filled with medals and commendations from the past he begged the universe to take him back to.

Sleeping four hours was standard for him, his eyes held bags dark and weathered that just wanted to be put to rest. Doing so, he snapped the bindings of his denim dungarees and lay in a red t-shirt, sweat soiling the sleeves and threw it in a pile of other red shirts.

_Tick tock tick tick tock._

A singing menace awoke him, a popular singer albeit a young and frustrating Toad, dictating to his delicate ears. A coarse hand tapped the top of the alarm, he had an hour to get ready for work. Dragging his last pair of clean underwear and his recently worn denims and t-shirt, he grabbed his key and towel, his shampoo and soap down with him to the communal bathroom. Hairs tickled his lip, some greying, most dark. A couple could be heard, drunken and aroused, at the bottom of the stairs, giggles and fluttering occurred. Continuing downwards, he caught the two kissing, a Shy and his pick up, a large Koopa girl. He caught the plumber's eye, averting his gaze quickly and ripping his hand away from the Koopa's hip.

"What's wrong?" She sounded annoyed at his sudden disdain for her.

"I...I just...he lives here..." the Shy spoke nervously.

The plumber heard their voices fade into the distance.

"Hmm." The plumber said softly to himself, "So much for a Shy Guy."

Showering allowed him to reflect on his day, on his most private thoughts. He looked down at his flabby gut, pouring with water, matting the body hair, wishing for the past. Queen Peach had long forgotten him. Surely. The Delfino Treaty stopped the fighting, it had ended his life on that day. King Bowser IV of the Koopa Royal Family had agreed to terms and surrendered to the superior defences of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario was a just a plumber back then but at least he hadn't the knowledge of war and politics to stain his mind forever like he did today. In the beginning, working at Peach's castle was one thing, it was another thing entirely that he was confronted by an invading soldier.

"_Plumber. You are to head to the Koopa Troop refugee camp immediately."_

"_What? Is this a joke? Piss off, I'm working."_

"_If you do not stand and leave I shall be forced to arrest you."_

"_Joke's a joke pal, I'm trying to do this..."_

"_If you insist."_

The Goomba attacked, biting Mario until a bludgeon from a wrench saw him off, the trooper was relentless, Mario jumped and crushed the soldier beneath his feet. The sickening crunch led to retching and eventual vomiting from the plumber who had committed his first kill.

Mario turned off the shower nozzle, heading past the drunken couple, the Shy Guy looking ashamed once more, the man in red and blue walked out of the apartment building after dropping his towel off. He passed a few people, each to their own, ignoring everything but themselves. Mario went about the same routine as the previous day, he stopped at Mushy Café.

"A cup of your strongest please."

"You mean Poison Black sir?"

"Sure, whatever."

"Coming up."

His eyes wandered the room, the smell of coffee, a couple of early birds reading or watching the news on Holo-Z. He caught an earful of some news.

"...the Queen is expected to be attending a conference held by the Delfino Council of Nations later today. King Koopa, Bowser IV himself and several other prime ministers and presidents are also suspected to be attending to discuss trade issues, negotiate with both the newly installed President of Beanbean and Queen Daisy II of Sarasaland over growing tensions and the hot button topic, migrations of Darkland citizens integrating into the Mushroom Kingdom. Peter Little has spoken to the public to get their views...Peter?"

Mario stopped listening to sipped his coffee slowly, he caught some sound bites from the news regardless.

"Disgraceful, they have no compassion for us."

"...you know I saw one of these 'people' going to the toilet on a shop counter yesterday!"

"My husband died in that war. When they stop being such savages, we will give them rights...when the man...or should I say, the coward that watched the love of my life beg for his life plead to me for forgiveness then we'll see!"

The plumber sipped the granules before tossing the paper cup into a bin, he sympathised with their views yet he knew the country's own army committed just as many atrocities in the war. More people entered the café, he left, not wanting any awkward conversation to cloud his head. He put his hands into the flap of his overalls, staring at the Warp Pipe ahead of him. He thumbed a few gold coins in preparation. The queue was pretty short considering the school run, he eyed a Koopa taking a cigarette out and smoking it near a single mother and her son. They were both Toad, the mother judging the Koopa, her child looking in curiosity. She knelt down and Mario heard her say, "Don't look at them Thomas, they're not from here, they're dirty." Mario pulled out a packet of Hillfields cigarettes, he looked at the packet; Mild Mushroom Extract.

He shook his head slightly, finally reaching the entrance to the pipe, the green paint gone, transparent plastic showing the naked circuitry underneath, the stench of vomit from first timers and the weak of stomach surrounded Mario's nostrils. An electronic voice startled him; 'Three Coins please.' A buzzing noise heralded a dropping of the coins from Mario's gloved hand. He stepped into the pipe, the familiar start up sound replaced with a less friendly system clicking at him instead.

"Destination." It said coldly.

"Toadstool Park," he said. "How times change," he thought.

His head was seemingly beneath his body the entire journey, he didn't seem to have long to think about the past but he managed it.

"_Oh Mario! It's beautiful, how...how did you get this?"_

"_He left it lying around with his army, thick headed of him huh?" Mario winked at her._

_It was a small globe, hand crafted and painted by one of Bowser's son's._

"_I can't believe you got this, you just picked it up?"_

"_Well..I was fighting off some special forces that were there, I guess I was thinking of you the whole time and...I wanted to remember that I thought of you."_

_The reality was far from the truth._

"_It's perfect. Thank you." Princess Peach kissed him tenderly and smiled sweetly at him._

_There were no soldiers apart from one person. Mario had smashed Prince Lemmy with a nightstick until he was pleading in his own blood for mercy, caving the artistic young man's face in despite his obvious lack of any fighting prowess. Mario had toyed with the young royal, teasing his love of art, kicking his bottom jaw off when he became bored, stealing the globe as his prize._

The middle aged man had regretted that particular moment more than most.

He knocked on the door of his customer, awaiting reply. He waited two minutes before knocking at the back, she was in the kitchen and teetered along the back hall slowly.

"Oh hello! You must be the plumber, come on in." Mario barely had chance to show his ID to her.

He worked on her downstairs sink, her house was charming, trinkets and knick knacks littering the shelves and mantle pieces surrounding him. She made him a cup of tea, he declined politely but she insisted. It only reminded him of Peach.

As he finished up, he knocked his head on a drawer, "Dammit."

"How much do I owe you dear?" She fumbled with a coin purse.

"I'll send you the bill ma'am, no worries."

The white disks of her eyes looked confused, the elderly Bob-omb telling him that her last plumber got paid in instalments. Mario told her that it was a quick fix job and that wasn't needed, he spent five minutes telling her before receiving a phone call, apologising, saying his goodbye and leaving the house swiftly.

"Hello?"

"Mario, it's me."

"Luigi? What phone are you on?"

"New number, listen, you think I could fly through and see you this week?"

"Erm..." Mario was almost as confused as the woman he had helped, "I suppose so."

"Great, Daisy's driving me up the wall with this Beanbean business, the kids are just being kids, ha! Listen, I gotta go, talk to you soon, see ya."

"Yeah..." Mario saved the number but wasn't fussed if it didn't ring again for a year.

His day was dull, a few more stops and fixes let him entertain himself with what Luigi would do once he arrived; brag about his marriage to Daisy, his children excelling in their private education, their living arrangements, Mario's living arrangements, old times. It filled his head throughout. He thought to the moments after his first kill.

_A Mushroom Retainer ran towards him, Mario was still in shock._

"_Dude! Dude! You killed him!" the retainer exclaimed._

"_D-don't you think I-I can see that?" Mario's voice trembled._

_An explosion sounded out from the side of the castle, debris rained down on houses in a nearby town. Dozens of servants, royal guard and visitors surely dead._

"_Look!"_

_Mario tilted his head and saw two Koopa's, both with hammers and helmets, carrying the Princess, trying to restrain her kicking and yelling._

_The Toad shouted towards them, despite the distance._

"_T-That's the Princess! We-I mean YOU gotta save her man! I will be out of a job otherwise, I ain't working for some dictator!"_

_The plumber took his cap off, beads of sweat ran down his forehead, he had to be the closest available help. He could see the Royal Guard as they carried bodies beyond the moat and rushed for blankets, carnage of this type hadn't been seen in the Mushroom Kingdom in hundreds of years._

"_I-I'll go."_

"_Wow seriously? I was slightly kidding but you have got balls man."_

"_Besides, it's not like you're going to do anything...what's your name?"_

"_Toad."_

_Mario was puzzled, "You're..named after your species?"_

"_It's a nickname! And you?"_

"_Mario...and looks like I have a job to do."_

Mario arrived home, it was late but he went to the shared kitchen on his floor and threw some food in the oven. A couple of people were talking whilst waiting for their own food to finish cooking. Taking his hat off, Mario sat down opposite them, rarely making eye contact. He eavesdropped out of boredom.

"...taking a Goomba out for looking at you funny isn't cool man, the police are too whipped to see past it."

"I tell ya, he stared me out, so I cracked him in the face."

The plumber waited fifteen minutes for his food to finish cooking, silently.

Switching the Holo-Z on in his tiny room he managed to catch the news.

"Towards the end of the Delfino conference, many members became restless, arguments became harder to control and the Council President ended the negotiations before any agreement over foreign workers and migrants could be agreed. King Bowser quickly extinguished any claims that his government is putting pressure on other nations by accepting what critics believe are punished citizens of his regime. He had this to say..."

Mario saw the image of the similarly aged king appear on screen. The familiar orange hair was disappearing, he was balding with grey temples, he looked distinctive yet fearsome and as intimidating a leader as he had ever been.

"My people are kept in food and water, the fact they want anywhere else to reside is due to a lack of jobs, land and they want access to a wider opportunity, is that so hard for your collective governments to accept? Everybody must compromise."

"The Queen had this to say."

The image changed to Queen Peach Toadstool. Twenty three years had passed, she was forty five. Her flaxen locks had not altered, her hairstyle was kept manageable but it was a little shorter. Her eyes remained the light blue that made many take a second look when they met her. She still looked like she was just reaching the peak of her youth, not past it. Mario felt his mouth dry as he saw her, it happened every time he saw her speak now.

"These nations, the council, the opinion of the general population knows that you are a tyrant, my father never stood for it and I shall not stand for it. We agreed to take your people in due to the unfair treatment you placed them under. I have had reports of torture, a document detailing an extended bout of martial law, pictures of labour camps and yet you will still deny them!"

The news reporter flickered back on screen, "King Bowser refused to comment which led to the uproar-"

Mario switched it off, not daring to bring back some more memories.


End file.
